Is your drinking water safe?

The media recently published a warning from the NSW Health Authorities advising households to be aware of the danger of lead residue in their drinking water.

While Sydney is lucky to have a clean supply of water (see Peter’s video below), it’s often the other elements that we tend to forget about such as the pipes and fittings that the water flows through.

One of the biggest threats to introducing lead residue is using cheap, uncertified materials when carrying out plumbing or building work.

Lime Plumbing only uses products with the WaterMark Standard when carrying out plumbing works, and we will quite often decline a job if a customer has sourced materials that are uncertified.

So what do you need to do?

While you don’t need to rush out and get your property tested, there are some things that the NSW Health Authority advises you to do that can proactively reduce your potential exposure to lead in drinking water.

These are:

using water from cold taps only for drinking and cooking

flushing cold water taps used for drinking and cooking for about 30 seconds first thing in the morning to draw fresh water through the tap

flushing cold water taps used for drinking and cooking for about 2 to 3 minutes after long periods of non-use, such as return from holidays; this ‘flushed’ water can be collected and used for washing up

By following these measures you can also reduce your potential exposure to other metals in plumbing, such as copper and nickel.